TEHRAN (FNA)- Security sources in Baghdad disclosed that the US is expanding its military build-up in al-Qayyara, South of Mosul, to build its largest ever base in Iraq on the eve of parliamentary elections in the country despite the strong opposition expressed by the public, senior politicians and armed popular groups.

The Arabic-language Abaa news website quoted a security source as saying on Tuesday that the US forces have started upgrading the airbase in Southern Mosul.

"The US has deployed a large number of military equipment in the airbase and has started reconstructing and upgrading it," he added.

The United States is seeking to increase of its military and intelligence presence in Iraq's Western province of Anbar and the country's Northern province of Nineveh.

The US military have recently increased their troops in Ayn al-Asad airbase in Anbar province, as well as in al-Qayyara airbase in South of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province despite opposition by the Iraqi public opinion and politicians.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari underlined in February that the fight against terrorism in Iraq is led by Baghdad, adding that Iraq doesn’t need foreign forces or military bases.

"We have clearly spoken about this issue since 2014. I have said in New York (UN General Assembly meeting) transparently that we don’t need forces and military bases of other countries in Iraq," al-Jaafari said.

"The battlefield command in the war against ISIL in Iraq was done by Baghdad. We couldn’t accept non-Iraqi command in battle against terrorism because our people were concerned that such an incident could become a prelude for the establishment of foreign military bases in Iraq as it happened in certain countries," he added.

"We feared that our fate would be similar to the Incerlik base in Turkey or some bases in Germany, Japan and (South) Korea," al-Jaafari said.

Also in the same month, Kenan Tuzlu, commander of the Turkmen unit of the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi, emphasized that "American forces are aggressive, occupying forces" and demanded their withdrawal from Iraq.

"We don't want the US or any other foreign military’s presence in Iraq. We consider it unacceptable. There is no rational explanation for the American presence in our country, Tuzlu said.

Also last month, Spokesman and a senior commander of Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Battalions) popular forces Jafar al-Hosseini warned that the chances are more than ever that clashes break out between them and the US military men deployed in the Arab country.

"Clashes may break out with the Americans at any time, and this time no mediation will help the Americans and it is not like the past," al-Hosseini was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Mayadeen news channel as saying.

He described the US military deployment as occupation of Iraq, and said, "It was the Americans who brought the ISIL to Iraq to have a pretext to return."

With new parliamentary elections scheduled for May 12, Iraqi leaders and citizens will have the singular opportunity to rise above the last 15 years of war and choose a government that embraces the many religious and ethnic groups of Iraq.

But analysts believe that the US attempts to reinvigorate military presence in Iraq will hinder efforts to establish full democracy in the Arab country.

Iraq’s parliament demanded earlier this month that the government set a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops stationed in the country.

The speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Saleem al-Jubouri, puts it like this, “We don’t need more weapons or training as much as we need open minds and a willingness to co-exist peacefully and respect diversity.”

Al-Qayyara Airfield West is a former Iraqi Air Force base in the Qayyara district of Mosul in Northern Iraq. It was captured by the US-led coalition forces in 2003. It was also known as Q–West or Key West by the various US army forces.

Formerly known as Saddam Airbase, the facility is located 16 kilometers West of the Tigris River, 20 kilometers West of Qayyara town, 60 kilometers South of Mosul and about 300 kilometers North of Baghdad.

The airfield is served by two main runways measuring 11,500 and 11,800 feet. The airfield has at least 33 dispersed hardened aircraft shelters and once housed MiG 25s and 27s and M-1 Mirage fighters.

There are two Weapon Storage Areas (WSA) located 10 and 12 kilometers to the North that are probably associated with Qayyara West. WSA 1 has 30 munition storage igloos and is 1640 acres in size. WSA 2 has 42 munition storage igloos and is 800 acres in size.

Qayyara West AB was built in the late 1970s and was one of several Iraqi Air Force airfields of the 1970s which were re-built under project "Super-Base" in response to experiences from the Arab-Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973. It became a major airfield during the 1980s war with Iran.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Kurdish sources in Northeastern Syria disclosed once again on Monday that the US troops have conducted heliborne operations to rescue a number of entrapped ISIL commanders who had escaped to Northern Hasaka province after losing the war in Iraq.

TEHRAN (FNA)- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the longstanding Israeli siege on Gaza Strip has led to deteriorated living conditions of approximately two million Palestinians in the blockaded coastal enclave.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a message felicitated Angela Merkel on her reelection as the Chancellor of Germany, voicing the hope that bilateral ties between Tehran and Berlin would expand based on mutual respect and common interests.

TEHRAN (FNA)- A US-Israeli plot to launch attacks against Damascus from several fronts in collaboration with the NATO, Israel and Jordan failed, sources revealed on Monday as the Syrian army carried out successful operations in Eastern Ghouta.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian foreign ministry said the French top diplomat, Jean-Yves Le Drian's adamant stance on Iran's missile and regional power after he was briefed about Tehran's policy during a recent visit to the Asian nation is a source of regret and display that talks with some Western statesmen might lead to nowhere.

TEHRAN (FNA)- More than 79,000 civilians have left terrorist-held regions in Eastern Ghouta via humanitarian corridors for safe zones controlled by the Syrian Army troops, the spokesman for the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said on Monday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Rapporteur of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini rapped Washington for numerous violations of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Iranian Border Guards Brigadier General Qassem Rezayee said the country's border guard who was wounded in a 2017 cross-border attack in Southeastern Iran and was then taken by the terrorists to Pakistan is still alive.

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Turkish Army's new convoy of forces and equipment has entered Southern Idlib, field sources reported on Monday, adding that the Syrian Army has opened fire at regions near the positions of the Turkish troops in Southern Aleppo.